Hazard Assessment Reporting Form

A hazard is any practice, behavior, condition, or combination of these that can cause injury or illness to people, or cause damage to property. The hazard assessment is a process used to examine the various factors associated with a procedure involving hazardous materials in order to identify the hazardous characteristics of the material, the activities that can result in a person’s exposure to hazardous materials, the likelihood the exposure will cause a laboratory-acquired infection, and the probable consequences of an infection. The information identified by the hazard assessment will provide a guide for the selection of lab hazard risk groups, lab practices, safety equipment, and facility safeguards that can prevent lab-acquired infections and reduce environmental contamination risks that can be eliminated or controlled. The Laboratory Hazard Assessment Tool (LHAT) software facilitates the identification, scoring, ranking, and mitigation of both existing and potential safety hazards and risks throughout individual Researcher labs and ensures institutional safety conditions, practices, and policies are under continual evaluation and in full compliance with local, State, and Federal requirements.

A hazard assessment is the first step in a process used to assess risk within the lab. The result of a hazard assessment is the identification of risks. The main goal of the assessment is to provide the best selection of means of controlling or eliminating the risks and which PPE is appropriate for each particular situation.

The LHAT, included with the Web Questionnaire Builder, is used to identify hazards in facility labs, required personal protective equipment (PPE), compulsory and optional training, and necessary medical surveillance. In a research environment, all laboratories should complete and submit a Laboratory Hazard Assessment on a regularly scheduled basis or whenever hazards change in the lab. This Lab Hazard Assessment can become part of the EH&S laboratory inspection process.